SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013 technology

In-flight phones: Others likely to follow FAA lead

LONDON: The US Federal Aviation Administration European regulators first followed America’s lead in before landing. If that passenger took the same adopted in this jurisdiction in time.” Qantas, says it is relaxing restrictions on the use of smart- banning the use of the devices during takeoff and plane home, he or she would have to turn the con- Australia’s largest airline, said in a statement that it phones and other electronics inside flights by landing and were likely to follow America’s lead sole off on takeoff but be allowed to use it on land- was “always interested in regulatory developments American carriers. Passengers are still barred from again now that the situation had changed. ing. It’s a confusing scenario aviation officials say that could benefit passengers” and would be look- making calls or downloading data off a cellular net- “American safety is regarded as a gold standard,” they’re working to avoid. “That’s exactly the kind of ing closely at the FAA’s decision. British Airways work, but the OK on using laptops, consoles, e- said Joseph Lampel, a professor of strategy and situation that (the International Civil Aviation didn’t offer an opinion on the FAA decision, but readers, and other electronics at the beginning and innovation at London’s City University and a critic Organization) is trying to mitigate right now,” said noted it had recently become the first airline to end of each flight will come as a relief to many trav- of the current rules. He acknowledged that spokesman Anthony Philbin. “Our main concern is allow customers to use their cellphones as soon as elers. Here’s a look at what may be in store for air European regulators had become increasingly that we don’t want to see separate regulations set the plane left the runway. travelers in the rest of the world. independent of their American counterparts, but in place in different places in the world.” Philbin Virgin Atlantic said it would carefully study the said it still seemed likely that they would relax the said a group of international state and industry new guidance, which it said would give customers WILL OTHERS FOLLOW THE FAA’S FOOTSTEPS? restrictions, which he said “never made any sense.” representatives is currently studying the issue. “a more enjoyable experience aboard.” German air- That seems likely. Across the Atlantic, Britain’s There was no answer at the European Aviation line company Lufthansa, which has long champi- Civil Aviation Authority on Friday said it welcomed Safety Agency on Friday, a public holiday in some HOW ARE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES REACT- oned the use of data services in the cabin, wel- the FAA’s move, noting that electronic devices were parts of Europe. ING? comed the FAA decision but said it was concerned a fact of modern life and “naturally passengers Airlines across the globe said they were still that rules might now vary according to the airline want to use them when they fly.” Still, it said that WHAT HAPPENS IF NOT EVERYONE AGRESS TO digesting the FAA’s turnaround, but a few of them or the destination. “We hope these standards will European authorities in Brussels would have the CHANGE THE RULES? released statements suggesting they both expect- be featured worldwide,” spokesman Michael final say over whether to loosen rules across the Conceivably, a passenger traveling from New ed and welcomed similar moves elsewhere. Air Lamberty said. Raf Casert in Brussels, Kristen continent. York to London would be allowed to use a games New Zealand, the country’s national carrier, said it Gelineau in Sydney, and Nick Perry in Auckland, One academic who has studied the issue said console on takeoff but would have to turn it off seemed “probable that a similar approach will be New Zealand, contributed to this report. — AP Tawasul Telecom boosts its network in Egypt Signs cooperation agreement with ‘Etisalat Misr’ KUWAIT: Continuing its journey of success as the leading telecommunications services provider in the Gulf region and Middle East, Tawasul Telecom is currently underway to enhance the infrastructure of its cloud network in the African continent, particularly Egypt, by signing a coopera- tion agreement with Egyptian mobile operator “Etisalat Misr”. Tawasul Telecom will offer data transfer services and international connectivity between company’s branches utilizing the latest MPLS technology considered to be the safest and most secure option both within and outside Egypt. The agreement was signed in the presence of Hani Al Shakhs, CEO-Tawasul Telecom and Eng. Saeed Al-Hamly, CEO-Etisalat Misr. Since its inception, Tawasul Telecom has played a strate- gic role in enhancing and developing the telecommunica- tions infrastructure in the Gulf countries and in the Middle East. It also enjoys a track record of success for exclusively bridging the technological gap between Gulf countries TAMPERE: Picture taken on October 4, 2013 shows Kimmo Saarela, the CEO of TreLab in the Finnish city of and the rest of the world while simultaneously offering the Tampere, demonstrating a localization device using a wifi technology, a product of his company. Saarela, 44, is business sector world-class informational communication one of a large number of former Nokia employees seeking new careers with their own start-ups following the services. steep fall of their former employers. — AFP In this regard, Tawasul Telecom CEO, Hani Al-Shakhs said, “We are very pleased to have partnered with the lead- ing telecommunications company in Egypt, Etisalat Misr, which will support our presence and operations in the promising African market and whose partnership will ‘Anonymous’ hack puts crown our ongoing successes in the strategic European Hani Al Shakhs and Asian markets.” Al-Shakhs further emphasized Tawasul Telecom’s contin- as well. uous commitment to exploring new opportunities around Hani Al-Shakhs concluded “The joint cooperation Singapore on high alert the world in the sake of extending and developing its between the Egyptian Telecommunications Company and cloud network particularly in the business sector aiming at Tawasul Telecom serves as a testament to the strength of SINGAPORE: Activist group Anonymous hacked a reconsider the regulations of your (Internet) framework or linking its global operations. our unique relationships with new partners and a confir- Singapore newspaper website Friday over Internet free- we will be forced to go to war with you,” a male voice said, Eng Saeed Al-Hamly, CEO, Etisalat Misr, also expressed mation of our constant efforts to provide the best services dom in the city-state, where government agencies are addressing the government, as a person hiding behind a his delight in signing the cooperation agreement with to our valuable customers all over the world”. now reportedly on alert for wider cyber attacks. mask appeared in the YouTube clip. Tawasul Telecom, which he described as the pioneer in It also worth noting that Tawasul Telecom is continuous- The website of the pro-government Straits Times was The original video has been taken down, but has been providing highly effective and professional telecommuni- ly applying its strategy to enhance and develop the infra- hacked early in the day by apparent members of the copied by other users and can still be viewed online. cations services across its networks. He also considered the structure of its cloud network that now covers 10 active group, which is opposing recently introduced licensing Reacting to the YouTube clip, Singapore’s Infocomm partnership between both companies to be a vital and markets in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa includ- rules for news websites in Singapore on censorship Development Authority said: “We are aware of the video, essential step in offering superior services to customers ing: Kuwait, the KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, the UAE, the grounds. and the police are investigating into the matter.” abroad and laying a firm foundation for future cooperation UK, Germany, Singapore, and Egypt. The attackers, using the name “Messiah”, took over the The Straits Times, meanwhile, said it had learned gov- blog of a Straits Times journalist, saying she had distorted ernment agencies had been put on alert in Singapore fol- “our words and intentions” in a report on the group’s lowing the initial threat on Thursday. threat a day earlier to “wage war” on the Singapore gov- It said the alert directive came from the Government IT ernment. Security Incident Response Team, which was set up to “We oppose any form of Internet censorship among coordinate responses to cyber attacks. other things,” said a post on the journalist’s hacked blog, The new rules opposed by the hackers were imposed which is part of the newspaper’s website and has been on June 1 and require annual licensing for news websites taken offline. The hackers urged the journalist to apologise with at least 50,000 unique visitors from within Singapore within 48 hours “to the citizens of Singapore for trying to every month. mislead them”. Websites granted a licence must remove “prohibited If she fails to apologise, “then we expect her resigna- content” such as articles that undermine “racial or religious tion”, the hacker said in the hacked account, still visible in harmony” within 24 hours of being notified by Singapore’s online caches. “If those demands are met we will be on our media regulator. The new rules have sparked anger in the way. But in the event our demands are not met in the next city-state’s robust blogging and social media community, 48 hours, we will place you in our ‘to do’ list and next time which has accused the government of failing to carry out you wont (sic) be let off this easy.” a consultation and raised fears the regulations are aimed Asian media giant Singapore Press Holdings, which at muzzling free expression. publishes the newspaper, said: “We have made a police Blogs and social media have gained popularity as alter- report, and the police are investigating.” The attack on the native sources of news and opinion in Singapore, where Straits Times followed a post on the video-sharing site mainstream newspapers and broadcasters are perceived YouTube on Thursday in which a person claiming to speak to be pro-government. Under Singapore’s Internet code, for Anonymous warned the group would cause Singapore prohibited content includes “material that is objectionable to suffer financial losses from “aggressive cyber intrusion”. on the grounds of public interest, public morality, public Singapore, which has been governed by the same par- order, public security, national harmony, or is otherwise ty for 54 years and strictly regulates the traditional media, prohibited by applicable Singapore laws.” Singapore is Southeast Asia’s financial centre and hosts the regional authorities insist the licensing rules do not impinge on headquarters of many global companies. “We demand you Internet freedom. — AFP Epson to showcase Smart classroom solutions at Kuwait EDUTECH 2013 MAINE: A four-storey structure rests on top of a barge in Portland Harbor, in Portland, Maine, on Friday. It is one of three secretive structures that have online speculation focused on Google. — AP UAE: Epson has announced that it will ments in keeping with modern times. unveil select products that have the It believes in the power of technology potential to boost classroom technol- to revolutionize the overall education- ogy to enhance the learning experi- al experience in the region. It’s this Motorola aims for do it ence at Kuwait EDUTECH 2013, the lat- shared interest that has led us to asso- est edition of the biggest educational ciate with this forum since its incep- event dedicated to the development tion.” yourself smartphones of Kuwait’s education sector. This “As the Middle East market contin- marks the fourth consecutive year that ues to revive, especially with GCC Epson is joining the show, which will nations on the cusp of peaking in SAN FRANCISCO: Motorola wants to you’ll keep it,” Motorola said. On its website, Phonebloks envi- place on October 29 and 30 at the terms of size and strong market per- let consumers design their own smart- Motorola’s vision of do-it-yourself sions an online store letting consumers Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kuwait. formance, we are committed to bol- phones. The Google-owned manufac- smartphones builds on parent compa- read reviews of smartphone compo- Epson has hand-picked the EB- stering our marketing initiatives to turer has launched Project Ara to create ny Google’s success with its widely used nents, shop for new and used parts, 485Wi Interactive Projectors, Ink Tank capitalize on this opportunity. a free, open and standardized platform Android smartphone platform, which it and order custom-designed handsets. System (ITS) Printers and the GT-1500 Strategic platforms such as Kuwait to let people pick and choose the com- offers for free and allows manufacturers Project Ara is also a bit of a throw- Scanner to be showcased at the event. EDUTECH will help us make inroads ponents they want in their phones, to customize. Android also gives peo- back to the 1980s and 1990s, when EB-485Wi Interactive Projectors, the into the region’s growing education Khalil El-Dalu Motorola said in a blogpost this week. ple more leeway to tweak the features many technology-handy consumers world’s shortest throw, fully-integrated sector, while also serving our mutual The goal is to create a standard on their smartphones than Apple’s iOS assembled their own desktop PCs H.E. Dr. Nayef Falah Al Hajraf, Kuwait endoskeleton, or frame, that can hold platform offers to iPhone users. using hard drives, power supplies, CPUs interactive projector, is expected to be interest of building a more interactive Minister of Education, Higher the biggest draw due to its suitability and technologically advanced educa- different modules, like extra-powerful Motorola said it has been working and other custom-picked components. Education and Acting Finance processors, additional batteries or on Project Ara for over a year and that it That became less common when to classroom environments. With easy- tional environment,” added El-Dalu. Minister. More event details are avail- to-use interactive and multiple projec- The upcoming edition of Kuwait memory chips for storing more music, recently teamed up with Phonebloks, laptops, which are more difficult to cus- able at http://www.q8-edu.com. all based on the customer’s prefer- an open source project that has also tomize, became widely used, but com- tion modes, it can help educators EDUTECH 2013 will feature conference Epson, a global leader in electron- make engaging presentations in a sessions on ‘Rethinking Physical- ences. been working on creating modular puter components are still made at ics, develops a broad range of educa- “Our goal is to drive a more smartphone components that can be standard sizes that can be slotted into seamless manner to liven up classes Learning-Virtual Spaces,’ ‘Leadership, tion projectors, document cameras, and encourage discussions. Technology and Education,’ ‘Beyond thoughtful, expressive, and open rela- easily replaced. most PCs. interactive projectors and other prod- tionship between users, developers, The announcement of Ara follows Motorola said it will work on the Khalil El-Dalu, General Manager, Classroom Walls: Cloud Computing for ucts for education. These solutions can Epson Middle East, said: “EDUTECH is a Education,’ and ‘Kuwait MoE Vision vis- and their phones. To give you the pow- Motorola’s launch earlier this year of the project openly and create experimental complement initiatives by the Kuwait er to decide what your phone does, Moto X smartphone, which lets cus- modules. It plans to invite developers forum that seeks to transform the a-vis Planned Educational Projects.’ It is Government to enhance the quality of physical and virtual learning environ- being held under the patronage of how it looks, where and what it’s made tomers choose the colors of the front and recruit “Ara scouts” to help research the national educational sector. of, how much it costs, and how long and back panels and buttons. and shape the project. — Reuters